JSX Round-Table #1 (20/06/10)

Today I’d like to welcome you to a new feature on J Station X, the Round Table! If the other member of the JSX RT are up for it, I’d love to make this regular thing but for now, say hello to Round Table Number 1! On the Round Table, I ask each member a few questions about games and they answer. Simple. There’s also the chance for you to have your input too, just leave a comment!

(Me) @Jasmino924 – One thing I should say is that I am NOT a fangirl, regardless of what anyone says. However, I really do think that Sony took the ball and ran with it this year. Not only did they have the awesome Kevin Butler (@TheKevinButler) on stage, that some incredible Move demos too. Sony killed it at E3.

@fallenangel155 – I think that there’s never a clear “winner” of E3, but I do think that Microsoft did very badly this year. I felt their whole presentation was written badly, the people on stage were far too . . . happy. Microsoft seemed to be trying desperately to get as many ethnicities on that stage as possible. The whole thing just seemed so fake and cheesy, not to mention they opened their show with a multiplatform game. I think that the mass giveaway of 360s at the end was a last ditch attempt at winning crowd approval, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they wrote those 360s off as sales.

@Adwil24 – Of the big 3, both Nintendo and SONY take the crown of E3 winners, the 3DS or more importantly it’s software line-up, is nothing short than amazing. Nintendo also seem to of got their act together on Wii as well. Reboots for more Donkey Kong Country and Kirby are pretty huge [for] the Nintendo Gamers of old. SONY impressed in equal measure, less surprises but what their showing of PlayStation Move proves, it has the best balance of attracting new gamers and remembering the hardcore crowd. The EA/SONY partnership, also impressed. Highest point during the whole of E3, was by far the appearance of everyone’s favourite VP – Kevin Butler. He instantly lifted the SONY conference, and was a very smart move on SONY’s part. But it’s far easier to say who lost E3 2010, and that honour would go to Microsoft. Kinect sounded fantastic, but the games they used to showcased it, looked pretty poor. To add insult to injury, since its conference, rumours have surfaced that it will cost $150 (£139.99 in the UK) just for the camera, and that it only works when the person using it is standing. Behold this decade’s Virtual Boy folks.

@MadGearSolid – I think Nintendo will win, they seem the most game-focussed this year and to me, that’s what counts.

Question 2 : Are Nintendo’s games growing up?

(Me) @Jasmino924 – I’ve been a fan of Nintendo for a long time but it’s at that time now where I’ll just have to say ‘no, playing your games makes me look pathetic’. A lot of us grew up playing Nintendo games but that’s the point. We grew up. It’s difficult to hold new gamers’ attention these days which is something they’ll need to do when we trade in our ‘Pokemon’ for ‘games with guns’.

@fallenangel155 – I’m not sure if Nintendo’s games are “growing up” exactly, but I would agree that they are marketing the Wii and the 3DS (especially) to the less juvenile market. I think this is illustrated by the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, which is definitely a game unsuitable for the normal infants I associate with Nintendo. Another thing that got my attention at E3 was the announcement of a Goldeneye remake. This is clearly aimed at nostalgic gamers in their early twenties who played it on the N64. It’s a smart move.

@Adwil24 – “Nintendo’s 1st Party games have never been grown up, that’s their appeal. As a big Nintendo fan, my beef with them is, that for years they have struggled in 3rd place. I like many still went on day one, and buy their consoles and games. Then along comes Wii, and with it not only a new way to play but a whole new audience to play it. With a snap of the fingers Nintendo dumb down all their games, and focus on their new customers. The once meaningful Nintendo Seal of Quality have been slapped on so many rubbish games it’s a joke. At E3 things are looking up for the Nintendo fan of old, a new DK game, a fantastic looking Kirby game, Team Ninjas Metroid game, and the whole 3DS line-up screams to the hardcore gamer. Hopefully Nintendo have been listening to the very people who were with them during the bad time, and they will need when it all goes wrong.

@MadGearSolid – I think their games are already far more mature than most. I’d say Super Mario Galaxy’s charm is far more mature than the violence of gears or killzone.

Question 3 – Will Sony’s PlayStation Move games be any good?

(Me) @Jasmino924 – I have a lot of hope for the PS Move games. I was absolutely appalled at the Nintendo Wii’s attempt at motion control so hopefully Sony can make motion control look decent. I like the look of the fighting game that Sony have lined up so hopefully if they can feature a few more quality games like that, I’ll definitely be buying it!

@fallenangel155 – I really don’t think so. New peripherals are generally motivated by money and rarely for the advancement of the gaming experience, therefore first-party games are made by the lowest bidder. It didn’t work for the EyeToy and it won’t work for Kinect. I feel that the real potential is in the implementation of this technology into games. Regardless of what the Wii might tell us, I don’t think you can build a game around something as gimmicky as motion control. I think Move will find it’s niche in games like SOCOM or Dead Space, where it’ll be used for something simple like aiming or minigames.

@Adwil24 – After seeing the original tech way back in 2001, Move is by far a knee-jerk copy of the Wii. So I do not doubt for a second that it works, and works well. This added to the Augmented Reality, HD graphics and 3D support will be a big draw. My Mum is already interested in Move from what I’ve bored her with going on about and forcing her to watch, a good sign for SONY who are hoping to pick up some of the Wii-created wave of new gamers, and for men a seasoned gaming veteran, I’ll looking forward to using Move for games like Killzone 3 and LBP2. So along as SONY keep the balance of casual and core gamers happy, I can see Move games being not only great fun but great sellers.

@MadGearSolid – It looks nowhere near as horrific as the Kinect software, so it is decent by comparison but on the whole not the kind of thing I’m excited to play.

Okay folks, that’s it for this week’s JSX Round-Table! Hopefully this will become a regular feature but if you want more gaming related goodness, stick around on J Station X and visit Mad Gear Solid!